Chin and cheek support



June 12, 1951 F, L, BI'QQWN 2,556,793

CHIN AND CHEEK SUPPORT Filed Nov. 23, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

r/aren c: [and Bra W17 /(J/ 776% A rfiaro 9 Patented June 12, 1951 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE CHIN AND GHEEK SUPPORT Application November 23, 1948, Serial No. 61,550

2 Claims. (01. 128-164) 1 The present invention relates to a chin and cheek support used in connection with facial treatments for various purposes. It has been determined by the inventor that such supports besides fitting the contour of the face must be properly attached and supported to provide effective results otherwise such supports are absolutely ineffective. It has been particularly found that substantial stress or pull must be exerted both in an upward and backward direction on the face and that the best way to adjust the neces sary tension or pull is to arrange the attaching straps in such a way that they can be uniformly tensioned and tied and placed in the correct direction. It has in fact been found that the tying of the facial support is an extremely important feature in the present invention.

The present invention is neither a chin strap nor a mask. It comprises a section which fits on the forehead and one which extends around the sides of the face and chin. This support which is made as a single element is both tensioned upwards over the top of the head and downwards and backwards under the back of the head or around the base of the skull. The drawstrings or tapes which hold the support in position are arranged and tied in such a way as to exert a uniform tension in both of these directions. This construction provides a facial support which may be worn by a person at night while asleep without any discomfort whatsoever. It further will stay in place when once put on the face and is simple to put on and take off by the wearer without any assistance.

Further advantages and merits of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from consideration of the embodiment described in the specification below when taken in connection with the drawings illustrating the invention, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the support as worn by an individual.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the support indicating a detailed arrangement of the tying straps.

Figure 3 shows a rear view of the invention partially put on an individual looking in a direction towards the back of the head.

Figure 4 shows a front view of the invention as worn by an individual looking at the face of the individual.

In the figures the support comprises a forehead band I and a chin and cheek band 2 which are attached together along a bias edge at either side as indicated by 3 and 4. Both the forehead band and the chin and cheek band are of a knitted fabric with finished edges 5, 6, l and 8, made by overcast stitching as by a Merrow machine. This provides the desired flexibility over the band edges and permits the edge to remain. lightly against the face without causing a line on the face. The bands I and 2 which are formed of a knitted fabric are not on a bias but are knitted with a very much less extensibility in a longitudinal direction in the direction of the arrows A and B, than in the transverse direction to the arrows A and B. Such fabric with sufficient elasticity without the use of rubber or rubberlike material may be obtained by the use of a warp knit made on a fiat knitting machine so that the bands readily conform to the particular face contour. The line of union between the two bands on the overstitched seams 3 and 4 which preferably are of the flat lock type is such that the minimum stretch in the forehead band and in the cheek and chin bands are at right angles to one another and longitudinally on the bands while the maximum stress is transverse to these directions. It should also be noted that the chin and cheek band due to this type of attachment conform quite closely to the normal facial contour. The finished edges provide substantially the same stretch and no more than the material itself as in its longitudinal direction so that as the support is tied on the face a uniform tension will be obtained over its whole surface and it will lie smoothly against the face.

The tying arrangement to effect this result comprises a tape It which may be of silk, rayon or some other flexible material which attaches to the midpoint of the rear of the head band element as indicated at 9. This tape comes over the top of the head and terminates in a loop I I through which the cross tapes I2 and i3 extend. The cross tape I2 which may be of the same material as the tape IE is attached to the outer corner of the junction of the bands I and 2, while the cross tape I3 is similarly attached on the other side of the band. Each tape !2 and I 3 first passes through the loop II and then through external corner loops I4 and I5 respectively after which they fall loosely each with open ends as indicated by the ends It and l 'l respectively. The support is applied first by putting it over the front of the face with the chin and cheek band around the chin and the forehead band around the forehead. The chin band is tensioned upwards by the tapes I2 and I3 passing over the top of the head through the loop I I and the opposite corner loops I4 and 55. Then the tapes are crossed as shown in Figure 3,

brought around the base of the skull to tension the forehead band and tied at 18 at the front of the forehead on the forehead band as shown in Figure 4.

The tape ends i6 and H are drawn sufficiently taut so that initially the chin band is drawn tightly up against the chin and the side of the cheek exerting a tensioning stress on the band sufficiently to hold the face muscles firmly in place but not suflicient to make the person feel any discomfort. It has been found that this method of attachment is extremely effective in holding the skin and face muscles in their proper position.

In Figure 1, the dotted outline shows the normal position of the head when the chin and cheek support is attached. This illustrates a side view and shows particularly the position of the loop ll and the manner in which the cross tapes cross over the rear of the head and are tied at the front. In Figure 3, the dotted outline again shows the position of the head and the loose ends !6 and H of the tapes show the tapes after they have been passed through the loops M and i5 at the outer junction of the support elements and are about to be tightened around the back of the head before tying at the front. Figure 4 shows a full face View in which the dotted lines show the face and head outlined with the chin and cheek support completely and fully tied in position.

Having described my invention, I now claim:

1. A face support comprising a forehead band adapted to extend across the forehead from one side to the other, and a cheek and chin band adapted to extend downward across the cheeks and across the chin and joined to the forehead band in a diagonal seam at the sides of the face, a pair of tapes for securing the support to the face, each of said tapes being attached to said bands substantially at the outer end of each agonal seam, a third tape attached at one end to the middle top end of the forehead band and having a loop at its other end in a position to correspond to the region just rearward of the top of the head, said pair of tapes being adapted to be laced in opposite directions through said loop, and an additional loop attached to said bands across the outer end of each diagonal seam through which additional loops the pair of tapes are adapted to be passed after passing through said first loop, said tapes after passing through the said additional loops being reversible in direction whereby they are adapted to be tied at the front of the forehead band.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, in which said bands are of knitted material having substantially less longitudinal than transverse extension.

FLORENCE LUND BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

